Eggah

I have classed the eggah as an egg dish or omelette, but this is misleading unless one describes its character further. The idea of an omelette, influenced by the image of the French version, implies extreme lightness, softness, creaminess and a slight fluidity in texture. If one looked for these qualities in an Arab eggah, one could well feel disappointed.

An eggah is firm and sound, rather like an egg cake. It is usually 2 cm (1 inch) or more thick, and generally bursting with a filling of vegetables, or meat, or chicken and noodles, suspended like currants in a cake. The egg is used as a binding for the filling, rather than the filling being an adornment of the egg. For serving, the eggah is turned out on to a serving dish and cut into slices, as one would cut a cake. It is sometimes cooked in a rectangular dish, especially if baked in the oven. In this case, it is usually served cut into rectangular or square pieces.